Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay Fishing Report 8-21-14

I have to check the calendar this week, with cool nighttime temperatures feeling more like mid-September than August. It’s a sure sign that summer is winding down on Cape Cod.

The fishing, like the weather, cooled off this week. Stripers have scatted to parts unknown, but the blues have picked up the slack. Bottom fishing is slow, but the bluefin fishing is picking up off Chatham. Bonito are around, and more are arriving each week.

Cape Cod Canal and Buzzards Bay

The Canal slowed after last week’s frenzy. There are still fish to be caught in the Big Ditch reported the crew at Red Top in Buzzards Bay, but most are small. The ticket to hooking up right now is jigging deep with Savage Sand Eels and other jighead-and-soft-plastic combos.

Buzzards Bay is giving up some scup and tog around the hard rocky structures. Clams and squid are working for the scup while crabs are tempting the tog.

Bluefish have also entered Buzzards Bay in good numbers. Fishermen are casting poppers around diving birds and hooking up with the blues.

No word on the fluke fishing in Buzzards Bay.

South Side and Islands

The fluke fishing is better on the South Side, with some anglers doing well in Succonesset Shoals according to Jeff at Forestdale Bait and Tackle. The Helen H has been doing well on their full-day fluke trips, catching doormats up to 13 pounds!

Jeff at Forestdale also said the Popponesset Spit is producing both school stripers and bluefish.

Snapper blues are abundant in most bays, especially Cotuit.  Fishermen are catching snappers and scup from Douses Beach.

The striper fishing on the Vineyard is slow according to Coop of Coop’s Bait and Tackle, but the bluefish are everywhere. Fluke fishing around the island has also slowed.

Bonito fishing is going well on Bonito Bar off Nantucket according to the crew from Bill Fisher Bait and Tackle.

No sign of albies inshore yet. There were reports of false albacore mixed in with the bluefin south of Martha’s Vineyard last week, so hopefully it won’t be long before the little tunnies move inshore.

Outer Cape and Cape Cod Bay

The fishing in Cape Cod Bay is dead reported Jeff at Forestdale Bait and Tackle. The school of fish that provided a flurry of good action late last week disappeared. Some fishermen speculated they moved through the Canal while others think the fish moved north to Boston Harbor.

The stripers in Provincetown Harbor also pulled disappearing act. Jim at Nelson’s Bait and Tackle said that thousands of bass were in the harbor on Saturday, and by Sunday they had disappeared. In their place big schools of bluefish moved in. Jim said the blues are all over the place attacking eels, poppers and jigs. Wire-line jigging has been producing a few stripers in recent days.

Monomoy and the Chatham areas got hot late last week and also slowed down. Dan at The Hook Up said there are still some fish around, but fishermen have had to really go looking for them in order to scratch up a decent catch. Wire line is the best bet at the moment, as covering ground and staying deep has been the best way to locate the bass.

Bluefin Tuna

Finally, the bluefin action picked up east of the Cape. Dan at the Hook Up reported good fishing at the BC Buoy and the Sword this week. The fish have been a mix of sizes from 40 inches to 73 inches or more. Trolling has been the best bet.

Some 500- to 800-pound giants are feeding over Stellwagen Bank, and a few giants are moving into Cape Cod Bay. Harpoon boats stuck a couple giants off the east end of the Canal this week, so Canal fishermen should keep their eye out for some massive explosions in the Ditch this coming week, especially if those Buzzards Bay bluefish make a run through the canal.

Freshwater

The bass fishing is going strong. One young angler has been catching his own crayfish and using them to hook 4-pound smallmouths in Mashpee-Wakeby Pond. Crayfish are to smallies what lobsters are to stripers—irresistible.  Flip over some rocks or look around the boat ramps after dark for a chance to catch some crayfish.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Get the wire leaders ready and go after the bluefish. From Race Point to Woods Hole, the blues are your best option this weekend. Early mornings are seeing the most surface activity, but the fish are biting all day long—you may just need to go deep to get them.

The striper fishing will pick up soon as we approach the new moon early next week.